Amtrak: Penn Station 'summer of hell' work ahead of schedule

Amtrak’s disruptive work on Manhattan’s Penn Station, dubbed the “summer of hell” by the governors of New York and New Jersey, is running slightly ahead of schedule after the project's first week, the railroad said Friday.

Crews have completed the replacement of two switches and preparatory work on another key component of the infrastructure, and have also removed old rail ahead of the replacement of Track 10.

The massive undertaking, which involves the railroad accelerating work that had been scheduled to take place over the course of a year, is expected to be completed before Labor Day. Amtrak still needs to replace numerous pieces of equipment, including switches and power systems, and lay new rail for Track 10.

The project benefited from a week in which there were no notable equipment failures, a constant problem on the 21 tracks that carry a fix of Amtrak, NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road trains. Issues that occur now, while numerous tracks are out of service, could cause severe delays given the limited space available under the hub.

Naparstek said he didn’t quite know why there hadn’t been any notable equipment failures since the work started on Monday, but said it’s possible there would have been issues on the tracks that are no longer in service.

Thousands of commuters who use NJ Transit and the LIRR have seen their trips to Manhattan lengthened by the work. Some have been forced to transfer to ferries or subway service to finish their trips. The mitigations plans are costing both agencies millions of dollars.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has expressed skepticism that Amtrak can get the work done within the timeline the railroad has outlined. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has also said he doesn’t trust Amtrak, which he blames for problems that commuters have faced.

Naparstek said he wasn’t paying attention to the commentary and didn’t feel additional pressure because of politicians — just passengers.

“The pressure I feel is to impact them as little as possible,” he said. “This is about returning to a level of service these folks should have, and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

Asked if there was a chance the project could be completed ahead of schedule, Naparstek wouldn’t say. But he remained committed to the existing timeline.

“I think at this point it’s too soon to worry about that,” he said. “I’m looking at this, frankly, as a mission to have this station returned to full service by Labor Day.”